Guide to Communication

The IFF is an international, multidisciplinary festival. There will be people speaking multiple languages and using terms from various fields of study. English will often be the language we are using, and people who are fluent English speakers will have an advantage over less fluent English speakers.

We encourage all participants to approach the event with open and positive attitudes, and to engage constructively with others at all times. Please see our full Code of Conduct[1] for more information.

Guidelines

Together, we can make sure that we don’t miss out on valuable insights from our amazing participants:

1. Speak clearly and at a moderate pace.

2. Be an active listener, and be patient with people who are speaking their second (or third, or fifth!) language.

4. Avoid jargon. Assume that people don’t use the same terms, and explain them.

5. Address the idea, don’t attack the person.

6. Disagreements happen; it’s okay to walk away from a conversation that isn't fruitful or is becoming tense.

7. Your personal choice of technology doesn’t fit all users’ needs. There is space for different devices, software, tools, operating systems, programming languages, and licenses. Focus discussions on tools, whether closed source and commercially supported or open source, on the needs of users.

8. If you do not like a solution someone else is proposing, explain why, and state an alternative.

9. If you aren't having success on your own, ask for help from the session leader if you are in a session. Remember, if someone is breaking the code of conduct, you can make a report[2].

10. Remember that any group identity is complex and includes many different groups. Don't ask anyone to represent an entire group.

11. When meeting someone for the first time, you should ask them what their preferred gender pronoun is. This is because some people don't identify with the gender given to them at birth, and others may prefer gender-neutral pronouns. For example, Maria may prefer the gender neutral pronoun of they/them/theirs. As such, when speaking about Maria, you would say: “Maria wanted coffee.They are at the cafe.”